A trailblazing philosopher’s exploration of the latest brain science―and its ethical and practical implications. What happens when we accept that everything we feel and think stems not from an immaterial spirit but from electrical and chemical activity in our brains? In this thought-provoking narrative―drawn from professional expertise as well as personal life experiences―trailblazing neurophilosopher Patricia S. Churchland grounds the philosophy of mind in the essential ingredients of biology. She reflects with humor on how she came to harmonize science and philosophy, the mind and the brain, abstract ideals and daily life. Offering lucid explanations of the neural workings that underlie identity, she reveals how the latest research into consciousness, memory, and free will can help us reexamine enduring philosophical, ethical, and spiritual questions: What shapes our personalities? How do we account for near-death experiences? How do we make decisions? And why do we feel empathy for others? Recent scientific discoveries also provide insights into a fascinating range of real-world dilemmas―for example, whether an adolescent can be held responsible for his actions and whether a patient in a coma can be considered a self.
Churchland appreciates that the brain-based understanding of the mind can unnerve even our greatest thinkers. At a conference she attended, a prominent philosopher cried out, “I hate the brain; I hate the brain!” But as Churchland shows, he need not feel this way. Accepting that our brains are the basis of who we are liberates us from the shackles of superstition. It allows us to take ourselves seriously as a product of evolved mechanisms, past experiences, and social influences. And it gives us hope that we can fix some grievous conditions, and when we cannot, we can at least understand them with compassion. 16 illustrations

Touching a Nerve: The Self as Brain

Politics & Social Sciences

CHURCHLAND, PATRICIA

Philosophy

W.W.Norton&Company

Touching a Nerve: Our Brains, Our Selves

“Illuminating, entertaining and wise.” ―Nicholas A. Christakis, Nature 
Conscience, a finalist for the PEN / E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award, explores why all social groups have moral systems and how these systems are formed. Distinguished professor Patricia S. Churchland brings together an understanding of the influences of neuroscience, genetics, and physical environment to elucidate how our brains are configured to form bonds and care for children, while also investigating why amoral psychopaths can arise. Churchland then turns to philosophy to understand how morality is transmitted through generations, and why it has become a foundation of all societies. Conscience joins ideas rarely put into dialogue and brings light to a subject that speaks to the meaning of being human. 13 illustrations

Conscience: The Origins of Moral Intuition

How do we determine right from wrong? Conscience illuminates the answer through science and philosophy.
In her brilliant work Touching a Nerve, Patricia S. Churchland, the distinguished founder of neurophilosophy, drew from scientific research on the brain to understand its philosophical and ethical implications for identity, consciousness, free will, and memory. In Conscience, she explores how moral systems arise from our physical selves in combination with environmental demands.
All social groups have ideals for behavior, even though ethics vary among different cultures and among individuals within each culture. In trying to understand why, Churchland brings together an understanding of the influences of nature and nurture. She looks to evolution to elucidate how, from birth, our brains are configured to form bonds, to cooperate, and to care. She shows how children grow up in society to learn, through repetition and rewards, the norms, values, and behavior that their parents embrace.
Conscience delves into scientific studies, particularly the fascinating work on twins, to deepen our understanding of whether people have a predisposition to embrace specific ethical stands. Research on psychopaths illuminates the knowledge about those who abide by no moral system and the explanations science gives for these disturbing individuals.
Churchland then turns to philosophy―that of Socrates, Aquinas, and contemporary thinkers like Owen Flanagan―to explore why morality is central to all societies, how it is transmitted through the generations, and why different cultures live by different morals. Her unparalleled ability to join ideas rarely put into dialogue brings light to a subject that speaks to the meaning of being human. 13 illustrations

The Computational Brain, das außergewöhnliche Buch über vergleichende Forschung in den Bereichen von menschlichem Gehirn und neuesten Möglichkeiten der Computertechnologie, liegt hiermit erstmals in deutscher Sprache vor. Geschrieben von einem führenden Forscherteam in den USA, ist es eine Fundgrube für alle, die wissen wollen, was der Stand der Wissenschaft auf diesem Gebiet ist. Die Autoren führen die Bereiche der Neuroinformatik und Neurobiologie mit gut ausgesuchten Beispielen und der gebotenen Hintergrundinformation gekonnt zusammen. Das Buch wird somit nicht nur dem Fachwissenschaftler sondern auch dem interdisziplinären Interesse des Informatikers und des Biologen auf eine hervorragende Weise gerecht. Übersetzt wurde das Buch von Prof. Dr. Steffen Hölldobler und Dipl.-Biol. Claudia Hölldobler, einem Informatiker und einer Biologin. Rezension in Spektrum der Wissenschaft nr. 10, S. 122 f. im Oktober 1997 (...) Die 1992 erschienene amerikanische Originalausgabe des vorliegenden Werkes ist so erfolgreich, daß man bereits von einem Klassiker reden kann. (...) (...) ....ist das Buch sehr zu empfehlen. In Verbindung von Neurobiologie und Neuroinformatik konkurrenzlos, vermittelt es einiges von der Faszination theoretischer Hirnforschung, die auch in Deutschland zunehmend mehr Wissenschaftler in ihren Bann schlägt. Rezension erschienen in: Computer Spektrum 3/1997, S. 2 (...)Das Buch wird somit nicht nur dem Fachwissenschaftler, sondern auch den interdisziplinären Interesse des Informatikers und des Biologen auf eine hervorragende Weise gerecht(...)

Grundlagen zur Neuroinformatik und Neurobiologie: The Computational Brain in deutscher Sprache (Computational Intelligence) (German Edition)

Science & Math

Sejnowski, Terrence J.

Technology

Vieweg+Teubner Verlag

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by CHURCHLAND, PATRICIA. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by CHURCHLAND, PATRICIA

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by CHURCHLAND, PATRICIA. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Touching a Nerve: The Self as Brain

Touching a Nerve: Our Brains, Our Selves

Conscience: The Origins of Moral Intuition

Conscience: The Origins of Moral Intuition

Grundlagen zur Neuroinformatik und Neurobiologie: The Computational Brain in deutscher Sprache (Computational Intelligence) (German Edition)